Wall Mounted Toggle Hook

ABSTRACT

A convertible anchor comprises a fixture for holding an article to a friable wall and an anchoring mechanism extending from the fixture and adapted when rotated to engagingly extend into the wall for securing the fixture thereto. The fixture is selectively separable via frangible connection elements from the anchoring mechanism for allowing the fixture to be used alone with an appropriate fastener suitable for installing the fixture to a rigid structure, such as wooden components. The frangible elements are typically provided between the fixture and a proximal end of the anchoring mechanism. The nature of the vertical support to which the anchor is to be mounted is thus first determined and then, for a friable wall, the anchor is installed thereto using the anchoring mechanism or, for a more solid support the fixture is separated from the anchoring mechanism and installed to the solid support via an appropriate fastener.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to wall fixtures and, more particularly,to a wall anchor for use in different materials including friablematerials, e.g. gypsum.

2. Description of the Prior Art

There are various wall anchors available on the market, includingplastic inserts which are hammered in a hole previously defined in awall with a fastener, such as a screw, being then engaged in the plasticinsert, causing it to expand such that the assembly of the insert andthe fastener is set in the wall.

Toggle bolts also exist, wherein rotation of a bolt causes wings todeploy behind the wall and to ultimately abut the inside of the wallthereby firmly anchoring the bolt to the wall.

Both these types of anchors necessitate that a hole be previouslydrilled in the wall. On the other hand, there exists wall anchorsdefining a pointed cutting end and large threads, which are adapted to,in a single step, be rotatively driven in the wall thereby drillingtheir own hole in the wall with the large threads of the anchorcompacting the gypsum and becoming firmly set therein. These types ofanchors must be installed by way of a screwdriver and typically by apower driven screwdriver bit.

For instance, a screw tipped anchor with a toggle is disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 6,250,865-B1 which issued on Jun. 26, 2001 in the name ofMcSherry.

Also of interest is U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,295 that issued on Aug. 31, 1999in the name of McSherry, which discloses a pair of separate components,namely a wall anchor and a fixture. The fixture, e.g. a hook, is securedto a friable wall using the wall anchor that is inserted through a holedefined in the fixture and then rotatably driven in the wall typicallyvia a power driven screwdriver bit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an aim of the present invention to provide a novel wallanchor of simple installation and that can be installed in friable wallsas well as in solid structural members.

Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided aconvertible anchor for friable walls, comprising a fixture for holdingan article to a substantially vertical support and anchoring meansextending from said fixture, said anchoring means being adapted whenrotated to engagingly extend into a friable wall for securing saidfixture to the wall, said fixture being selectively separable from saidanchoring means for allowing said fixture to be used alone with anappropriate fastener that firmly mounts said fixture to a rigidstructure.

A frangible connection is provided between said fixture and saidanchoring means, said frangible connection being sufficiently solid toallow the assembly of said fixture and said anchoring means to berotatably installed to the friable wall while being adapted to beselectively broken for separating said fixture from said anchoringmeans.

Said anchoring means can comprise a threaded anchor member configuredand sized for firmly being engageable in the friable wall. Typically, aspace is defined between said fixture and a proximal end of saidthreaded anchor member. Generally, said space is bridged by saidfrangible connection.

Alternatively, said anchoring means comprises a toggle support extendingfrom said fixture and being frangibly connected thereto, a toggle boltpivotally mounted to said toggle support between a first and secondposition, and a fastener, wherein in said first position said togglebolt is substantially parallel to said toggle support to allow saidanchoring means to be engaged in the friable wall, whereas in saidsecond position said toggle bolt is substantially transversal to saidtoggle support, said fastener being adapted when introduced along saidtoggle support to cause said toggle bolt to displace from said first tosaid second position and to then threadably engage said toggle bolt fordrawing said toggle bolt towards said fixture and against a non visibleside of the friable wall thereby securing said anchor to the friablewall.

Said fastener can be used to mount said fixture to the rigid structureonce said anchoring means including said toggle support and said togglebolt have been detached from said fixture by rupturing said frangibleconnection.

For instance, said frangible connection comprises a pair of parallelelements extending parallelly to said toggle support and connecting aproximal end of said toggle support to said fixture.

Said parallel elements, if extending outwardly of said proximal end ofsaid toggle support, may be adapted when translationally inserted in thefriable wall to set said anchor in a desired position in the friablewall and oppose a rotation of said anchor in the wall friable wall.

A space may be conveniently defined between said fixture and saidproximal end of said toggle support, said space being bridged by saidparallel elements.

Typically, said fixture defines an opening adapted to be engaged by ascrewdriver bit for mounting said anchor to the friable wall.

Generally, said toggle bolt is provided with a leading screw tip forengaging, when said toggle bolt is in said first position thereof, thefriable wall as said anchor being installed thereto.

Also in accordance with the present invention, there is provided amethod for installing a wall anchor into one or the other of a friablewall and a rigid structure, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a convertible wall anchor having a fixture adapted to holdan article to a substantially vertical support and anchoring meansextending from said fixture and adapted for mounting to a friable wallfor securing said fixture to the wall, said fixture being selectivelyseparable from said anchoring means;

(b) determining a nature of the vertical support and proceeding withstep (c1) in the event that the vertical support is a friable wall orwith step (c2) in the event that the vertical support is a rigidstructure unsuited to be penetrated by said anchoring means; and

(c1) mounting said convertible anchor to the friable wall with saidfixture being on a visible side of the friable wall, or (c2) separatingsaid fixture from said anchoring means and installing said fixture tothe rigid structure via a fastener suitable for insertion into the rigidstructure.

Typically, at least when the rigid structure is wood-based, saidfastener in step (c2) is a screw.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Having thus generally described the nature of the invention, referencewill now be made to the accompanying drawings, showing by way ofillustration a preferred embodiment thereof, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side elevational view of a wall mountedtoggle hook in accordance with the present invention, showing a togglemember of the hook engaged by a screw;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the wall mounted toggle hook ofFIG. 1 but without the toggle member;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the wall mounted toggle hook ofFIG. 1 but without the toggle member;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the wall mounted toggle hook of FIG. 1 butwithout the toggle member;

FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of the wall mounted toggle hook ofFIG. 1 with the screw, in a first position thereof, partly insertedtherein;

FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view of the wall mounted toggle hook andscrew assembly of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a front perspective view of the wall mounted toggle hook ofFIG. 1 with the screw, in a second position thereof, further insertedtherein and causing a pivot of the toggle member;

FIG. 8 is a rear perspective view of the wall mounted toggle hook ofFIG. 1 with the screw, in a third position thereof, being engaged in thetoggle member;

FIGS. 9A to 9E are sequential cross-sectional side views showing theinstallation of the toggle hook of FIG. 1 in a hollow wall using thescrew;

FIG. 10 is a side view showing the toggle hook of FIG. 1 being separatedin two so as to detach the toggle member thereof from a hook fixture ofthe toggle hook; and

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional side view showing the hook fixture, devoidof the toggle member of the toggle hook following its removal as perFIG. 10, mounted with a screw to a wooden structural member.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1 to 8 illustrate a wall mounted toggle hook H in accordance withthe present invention, with a fastener F, such as a screw, being shownin FIGS. 1 and 5 to 8. The toggle hook H comprises a screw tipped anchor10 that is, for instance similar to that of the anchor assembly ofaforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 6,250,865-B1 (which is herein incorporatedby reference), but without the proximal flan_(g)e thereof (that isengaged by the screwdriver bit to rotatably install the anchor assemblyin a friable wall). In the present hook H, such a flange is replaced bya hook fixture 12 that is similar to the hook fixture 20 ofaforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,295.

The anchor 10 and the hook fixture 12 are herein frangibly connected at14 such that the anchor 10 can be snapped off (as seen in FIG. 10), e.g.via pliers, from the hook fixture 12 when it is desired to install thehook fixture 12 to a hard member, such as a wooden structural component,e.g. a 2″×4″. Indeed, the hook H is generally intended for hollow wallsW made of friable material (e.g. gypsum walls), wherein a cruciformopening 16 defined in the hook fixture 12 is engaged by a manuallydriven or power driven screwdriver bit B (see FIG. 9A) such thatrotation of the bit B causes the whole hook H to rotate along arrow 100in FIG. 9A, with the anchor 10 thereof boring an opening O in the wallW.

More particularly, the anchor 10 includes a pivotable toggle bolt 18provided with a screw tip 20 that is partly opened to define a cavity21. The toggle bolt 18 is pivotally mounted to a pair of fixed parallelposts 22 of the anchor 10. A pair of parallel blades 24 (also calledanti-rotation tabs) are provided between the hook fixture 12 and theposts 22 so as to frangibly connect the hook fixture 12 to the anchor10. The blades are sufficiently strongly connected to the hook fixture12 and to the anchor 10 to allow the toggle hook

H to be engaged in and mounted to the friable wall W, as shown in FIGS.9A to 9E, but will, when sufficient force is applied, yield and so allowthe hook fixture 12 to be removed from the anchor 10 for use with thefastener F to mount the hook fixture 12 only (i.e. without the anchor10) to a hard structural component.

Returning to the use of toggle hook H in a friable wall W, when theanchor 10 is rotatably driven into the wall W, the toggle bolt 18 isparallel to the posts 22 as seen in FIGS. 5 and 9A, whereby the screwtip drills the opening O in the wall W. In this first position of thetoggle bolt 18, the toggle bolt 18 is retained in alignment parallelbetween the two posts 22 by the engagement of a pair of ridges 28 (FIGS.4 and 8) provided along inside surfaces of the posts 22 with a pair ofchannels 30 (FIGS. 1 and 8) defined on outside surfaces of the togglebolt 18.

Once the opening O has been drilled but before the blades 24 engage thewall W, rotation of the hook H by the screwdriver bit B is interrupted,i.e. at the position of the toggle hook H illustrated in FIG. 9B.

The toggle hook H is positioned, either using the bit B or by manuallyrotating the hook fixture 12, such that the hook fixture 12 is in itsvertical orientation shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and 9B. The toggle hook H isthereafter pushed translationally straight towards the wall W, alongarrow 102 as seen in FIG. 9B, such that the blades 24 cut into thefriable wall W thereby setting the hook H and its hook fixture 12 in thedesired position.

The fastener F (see FIG. 9C) is then inserted rotatably and ortranslationally in the hook H using again the screwdriver bit B insertedin the hook H, or manually by translationally inserting the fastener Fin the hook H. In fact, the fastener F must translationally advancealong arrow 104 through the cruciform opening 16 defined in the hookfixture 12 and through the hole 32 defined in a cylindrical member 34that connects the posts 22 to the blades 24. In fact, the posts 22 andthe cylindrical member 34 are integral and form a toggle support for thetoggle bolt 18.

The advancement of the fastener F will cause the toggle member 18 tolongitudinally displace in a same direction and along the posts 22. Oncethe ridges o28 of the posts 22 become disengaged from the channels 30 ofthe toggle bolt 18, a further advancement of the fastener F will causethe toggle bolt 18 to pivot along arrow 106 (FIG. 9C) as the tip of thefastener F travels along a sloped proximal portion 36 (see FIGS. 5 and9A to 9E) of the toggle bolt 18. The fastener F thus causes the togglebolt 18 to pivot from its original position parallel to the posts 22 toa transversal position thereof shown in FIGS. 1 and 9D.

As seen in FIGS. 9C and 9D, the toggle bolt 18 is configured such thatthe fastener F, which is driven by a screwdriver bit (not shown), thenthreadably engages (and taps) a cruciform opening 38 (see FIGS. 5 to 7and 9A to 9E) defined in the toggle bolt 18.

As illustrated in FIG. 9E, once the fastener F is prevented from furthertranslational advancement, for instance as a result of its head abuttingthe hook fixture 12, further rotation of the fastener F along arrow 108will gradually draw the transversally-oriented toggle bolt 18translationally along the posts 22, as per arrow 110, until a planesurface 40 of the toggle bolt 18 firmly engages a non visible surface Nof the wall W, whereat the hook fixture 12 is held strongly against avisible surface V of the wall W, with the hook H being strongly mountedto the wall W as the wall W is imprisoned between the toggle bolt 18 andthe hook fixture 12.

If one wishes to install the hook fixture 12 to a rigid structureinstead of to the friable wall W, the anchor 10 can be bent with respectto the hook fixture 12 such as to snap off therefrom at frangibleconnections 14 as seen in FIG. 10, i.e. at the proximal ends of theblades 24, between which there is defined a space 26. The space 26allows for the back-and-forth bending along arrows 112 of the anchor 10relative to the hook fixture 12, as illustrated in phantom lines in FIG.10. The anchor 10 is then discarded and the remaining hook fixture 12can be secured to the rigid structure using an appropriate fastener,such as a wood screw S when the hook fixture 12 is installed to a woodenstructural member M, e.g. a 2″×4″, as seen in FIG. 11.

Other anchoring members (i.e. instead of the toggle anchor 10illustrated herein) can be contemplated, as long as they are frangiblyconnected to the visible fixture (herein shown as hook fixture 12) andas long as they are suited to friable walls. For instance, the wallanchor disclosed in aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,295 (that is usedto secure a hook to a wall) could be adapted by removing its proximalhead and by then being frangibly connected to a wall fixture such as thepresent hook fixture 12. In such a case, there would be no toggle boltand generally no fastener, but simply a wall anchor suitable for friablewalls that would be installed with its attached fixture via ascrewdriver bit and as per a single step similar to that illustratedherein in FIG. 9A. If the fixture needs to be installed to a rigidstructural component, the wall anchor would be snapped off from thefixture and the fixture alone would be mounted to such a rigidstructural component via a threaded fastener, e.g. a screw, in a mannersimilar to that illustrated in FIG. 11.

1. A convertible anchor for friable walls, comprising a fixture forholding an article to a substantially vertical support and anchoringmeans extending from said fixture, said anchoring means being adaptedwhen rotated to engagingly extend into a friable wall for securing saidfixture to the wall, said fixture being selectively separable from saidanchoring means for allowing said fixture to be used alone with anappropriate fastener that firmly mounts said fixture to a rigidstructure.
 2. A convertible anchor as defined in claim 1, wherein afrangible connection is provided between said fixture and said anchoringmeans, said frangible connection being sufficiently solid to allow theassembly of said fixture and said anchoring means to be rotatablyinstalled to the friable wall while being adapted to be selectivelybroken for separating said fixture from said anchoring means.
 3. Aconvertible anchor as defined in claims 1 and 2, wherein said anchoringmeans comprise a threaded anchor member configured and sized for firmlybeing engageable in the friable wall.
 4. A convertible anchor as definedin claim 2, wherein said anchoring means comprises a toggle supportextending from said fixture and being frangibly connected thereto, atoggle bolt pivotally mounted to said toggle support between a first andsecond position, and a fastener, wherein in said first position saidtoggle bolt is substantially parallel to said toggle support to allowsaid anchoring means to be engaged in the friable wall, whereas in saidsecond position said toggle bolt is substantially transversal to saidtoggle support, said fastener being adapted when introduced along saidtoggle support to cause said toggle bolt to displace from said first tosaid second position and to then threadably engage said toggle bolt fordrawing said toggle bolt towards said fixture and against a non visibleside of the friable wall thereby securing said anchor to the friablewall.
 5. A convertible anchor as defined in claim 4, wherein saidfastener can be used to mount said fixture to the rigid structure oncesaid anchoring means including said toggle support and said toggle bolthave been detached from said fixture by rupturing said frangibleconnection.
 6. A convertible anchor as defined in claims 4 and 5,wherein said frangible connection comprises a pair of parallel elementsextending parallelly to said toggle support and connecting a proximalend of said toggle support to said fixture.
 7. A convertible anchor asdefined in claim 6, wherein said parallel elements extend outwardly ofsaid proximal end of said toggle support and are adapted whentranslationally inserted in the friable wall to set said anchor in adesired position in the friable wall and oppose a rotation of saidanchor in the wall friable wall.
 8. A convertible anchor as defined inclaims 6 and 7, wherein a space is defined between said fixture and saidproximal end of said toggle support, said space being bridged by saidparallel elements.
 9. A convertible anchor as defined in claims 1 to 8,wherein said fixture defines an opening adapted to be engaged by ascrewdriver bit for mounting said anchor to the friable wall.
 10. Aconvertible anchor as defined in claims 4 to 8, wherein said toggle boltis provided with a leading screw tip for engaging, when said toggle boltis in said first position thereof, the friable wall as said anchor beinginstalled thereto.
 11. A convertible anchor as defined in claim 3,wherein a space is defined between said fixture and a proximal end Ofsaid threaded anchor member.
 12. A convertible anchor as defined inclaim 11, wherein said space is bridged by said frangible connection.13. A method for installing a wall anchor into one or the other of afriable wall and a rigid structure, comprising the steps of: (a)providing a convertible wall anchor having a fixture adapted to hold anarticle to a substantially vertical support and anchoring meansextending from said fixture and adapted for mounting to a friable wallfor securing said fixture to the wall, said fixture being selectivelyseparable from said anchoring means; (b) determining a nature of thevertical support and proceeding with step (c1) in the event that thevertical support is a friable wall or with step (c2) in the event thatthe vertical support is a rigid structure unsuited to be penetrated bysaid anchoring means; and (c1) mounting said convertible anchor to thefriable wall with said fixture being on a visible side of the friablewall, or (c2) separating said fixture from said anchoring means andinstalling said fixture to the rigid structure via a fastener suitablefor insertion into the rigid structure.
 14. A method as defined in claim13, wherein said fastener in step (c2) is a screw.